and its times like these.
i know i'm not missing out.
have fun.


my GEK module has effectively influenced the way i perceive films.
but that still doesnt entice me to warm up the cinema seats.
i'll just subscribe to the HBO pak.
muaha.
i see some future in pursuing a degree in film art.


now i shall attempt to briefly analyse a film i watched last night.
"Perfect Stranger" directed by James Foley.
starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis.
oh, i suggest you watch the film first before proceeding.


the film has many shots which tie in with the main theme: watching and being watched.
on Ro's first day at work, Hill's secretary notices that Hill seems interested in Ro and while walking away, she looks back over her shoulder at Ro.
in the scene where Ro is invited to the Victoria's Secret party, she is constantly glanced at from the corner of Hill's secretary's eyes.
Ro herself engages in watching, as she checks out Mia at the party.
this act of keeping tabs is evident throughout the film as different characters are always spying on others from cabs.
the camera is also used to depict the activity of watching and one example is the point-of-view shot of Ro looking at Hill through his office blinds.
the idea of being watched is also refered to in the use of technology, where electronic footprints can be traced, even when anonymity is seemingly promised.
this theme is most prominent towards the end of the film where we are shown two identical situations but with different characters, ultimately adding to the irony of the film.
one being the scene in which Grace witnesses Ro and her mother burying Ro's father through her bedroom window.
the other scene ends the film with a continuous slow track across the kitchen to a frame of Ro's neighbour looking out his window (directly facing Ro's kitchen), who has apparently just witnessed Ro murdering Miles.


the motif of eyes and pupils are very apparent in the film and contributes to the main theme once again.
the film starts and ends with a pupil and its inner fibres.
Grace died because she was poisoned by a substance called Belladonna, which is used to dilate pupils.
many a time, we see characters frantically shifting their gaze when engaging in misdeed.
the artistic pictures of dilated pupils taken by Mia (who was certified to handle Belladonna) hung on a wall in Hill's agency.
a pupil-like formation can be spotted behind Miles' shrine for Ro.
interestingly, the icon Hill used in his online chats was a single eye within a triangle.


the director often slips in bits of foreshadowing information which becomes more apparent if you watch the film again.
initial occasional flashbacks into Ro's past provide minimal conclusions and a lot of speculation.
when we see Ro's father with her in the bathroom, we get the idea that something terrible happened in her childhood.
but we are left to speculate what the link is with the present situation.
in one particular flashback, however, Hill replaces Ro's father but utters the same lines ("you know how much daddy likes bathtime").
it is possible that it foreshadows what will happen to Hill, as with Ro's father: that he will somehow be eliminated.
also, we are already provided hints to Miles' obsession with Ro.
one such hint is where we see Miles in the shadow spying on Ro and her boyfriend as they get frisky in her apartment.
another is when Miles uses Hill's online chat account to engage in an inappropriate conversation with Ro.


ultimately, do we sympathize with Ro, even after we know she's involved in the demise of four people?
Ro's mother killed her father because he was attempting to cause Ro harm.
Ro murdered Grace because she was constantly blackmailing Ro, even sleeping with her boyfriend.
Hill was unfortunately Ro's only way to escape conviction and thus, we can argue that she was forced to use him as a scapegoat.
Miles figured out the truth and intended to use this knowledge to finally have Ro for himself.
in each case, we see the suppression and the lack of choice that Ro faces.
so, does her situation justify her actions?


alright, now that was a chunk.


i will go down with this ship
and i wont put my hands up
and surrender.

perfection at 5:08 AM